Cigarette butt receiver and extinguisher



Aprifi 361 11935. .1. c, GLOMB CIGARETTE BUTT RECEIVER AND EXTINGUISHER Filed Feb. 16, 1953 Patented Apr. 3Q, 1935 STTES CIGARETTE BUTT RECE EXGUHSMIER d Claims.

The object which I have in view is the provision of a new and improved device for receiving and extinguishing cigarette butts and for the prevention of the escape of the fumes of burning a tobacco from the device into the surrounding atmosphere.

Generally speaking my device comprises a tube mounted in a depending position above a bowl,

the tube being of sumciently internal diameter lo so that a cigarette butt will drop therein, and a movable stop being positioned at the lower end of the tube to prevent the dropping of the cigarette butt into the bowl, said stop being forced aside and the butt being permitting to drop into the bowl when an additional butt or butts are inserted in the upper end oi the tube.

The upper end of the tube is provided with a portion of less diameter to lightly support a cigarette butt inserted therein.

The tube depends within a surrounding chamber closed at its top and supported at its bottom by and in spaced relation above the bowl.

Preferably the tube and the chamber are detachably mounted on the bowl, as by spring legs which detachably engage the bowl.

Other novel and characteristic features of construction and arrangement of parts will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein I have illustrated a practical embodiment of the principles of my present invention, Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the cap and the depending tube which is mounted therein.

Referring to the drawing, i is the bowl which forms the base of the device and into which the cigarette butts are discharged. It may also be used to receive burnt matches and other dbris. The bowl is preferably formed of metal but of course may be of any other desired material. 2 is a chamber which is preferably of annular cross sectional shape having a lower bell shaped portion which is supported by means of a plurality of spring metal legs 3 from the bowl l. Thus the bowl may be provided with an internal shoulder d against which the lower ends'of the legs 3 may bear.

The chamber 2 preferably contracts diametrically intermediate of its height and then expands, the top being a cylindrical portion 5 over which slips the lower end portion of the top cap 6. The cap 6 is provided with a funnel shaped top portion l having an axial throat 8 of the proper internal diameter to lightly support a cigarette tilt butt, indicated at ii, with its burning end downwardly. Secured to the top i of the cap 6 is 2. depending tube it of greater internal diameter than the throat of the top H and the upper end of said tube may be telescoped over the lower t end of the throat t and secured thereto as by soldering. The tube it is of sufficiently great diameter that when a cigarette butt is forced down through the throat 8 as by the insertion of another cigarette butt from the top, the first Ml named butt will be dislodged from the throat t and willbe dropped down in the tube it as in dicated at it. If there be no cigarette butts in the tube it inserted previously to the butt i i, said butt Ill! will drop down to the lower end of it; the tube it where it will be supported by a movable stop.

Said stop is preferably in the form of one or more bent spring fingers it which may be attached tothe exterior of the tube it as by solder 20 and whose lower ends are bent inwardly as at it to normally underlie the lower end 01 the tube it and. thus support a cigarette butt which has dropped down to the lower end oi? the tube as illustrated at M.

It is evident that if additional cigarette butts be inserted into the throat 8 the lowermost butt, indicated at it, will-be forced down out of the tube it, spreading the lower ends it of the spring fingers it, as is shown occurring in Fig. 3, and the released cigarette butt will drop down into the bowl i.

When a cigarette butt is inserted into the throat t with its burning end down the lack of air will cause the cigarette to very quickly go out, owing to the fact that the smoke and heat can not escape upwardly past the cigarette and also that the heated air from the burning cigarette will not pass downwardly against the body of cold air below it. Thus the cigarette butts are 40 quickly and entirely extinguished almost immediately after their insertion into the throat d and therefore when the cigarette butts are discharged from the tube ill they are no longer smoking and giving off fumes. y

In some previous types of extinguishers a depending tube has been used to receive the cigarettes but this tube has either been of the proper diameter to hold the cigarette frictionally or the walls of the tube have been longitudinally split to provide spring tongues which are bowed inwardly to retain the cigarette against falling. This type of support of the cigarette butt or butts until they are extinguished is neither satis factory nor very eihcient, and experience shows that if the cigarette butt be permitted to remain in such a tube for a relatively long time, such as over night or for twenty-four hours, the butt expands diametrically and tends to wedge itself in the tube and adhere to the walls of the tube so that it can not be dislodged by the force of the subsequent insertion of other bodies into the top of the tube.

I have found by experiment that the contracted portion at the upper end of the tube, specifically the throat 3 of the cap 6, of proper internal diameter to lightly hold a cigarette butt inserted therein is a very marked advantage, as it supports the butt in the upper end of the loosely fitting tube until it is extinguished, while if there were no such contracted portion provided the cigarette would drop down into the bottom of the tube and would be supported by the spring fingers, with the result that the cigarette butt would not be quickly extinguished owing to the fact that the currents of air would flow upwardly through the tube I 0 past the butt.

The device will operate satisfactorily as an ex tinguisher, the cigarette butt being quickly extinguished, and it is obvious that the smoke and fumes from the newly inserted butt can not travel downwardly through the tube Iii and through the chamber 2 to escape into the atmosphere, owing to the fact that the air in the chamber 2 is colder than that at the burning tip of the butt. This fact enables me to space the chamber 2 above the bowl I as by means of the spring legs, thus providing clearance between the legs for the dropping of burnt matches and other dbris into the bowl I.

As a matter of convenience for supporting cigarettes or cigars between puffs I mount on the legs 3 the curved metal rests Hi.

It is obvious that by an enlargement of the diametric size of the tube and the throat my device can be adapted for receiving and extinguishing the butts of cigars, stogies and the like, and the claims are to be interpreted as including such change in dimensions.

1. In a cigarette butt receiver and extinguisher, the combination of an imperforate tube having a sufficiently large internal diameter to enable a butt to pass freely through the tube without sticking, a throat of such reduced diameter at the entrance end of the tube so that a butt will not drop of itself down the tube but will be lightly supported therein, and a movable stop at the discharge end of the tube normally retaining a butt in the tube but arranged to be retracted by said butt when it is forced from the tube by the insertion of another butt into the entrance enu of the tube.

2. In a cigarette butt receiver and extinguisher, the combination of a chamber having an access opening at its bottom, an imperforate tube depending within said chamber and having a sufficiently large diameter to enable the butt to pass freely through the tube without sticking, the top of the chamber being closed, a throat of such reduced diameter at the entrance end of the. tube so that a butt will not drop of itself down the tube but will be lightly supported therein, and a movable stop at the discharge end of the tube normally supporting the lowermost butt in the tube but arranged to be retracted to permit the discharge of said butt when said butt is forced from said tube by the insertion of another butt into said throat.

3. In a cigarette butt receiver and extinguisher, the combination of a support, a chamber mounted on said support, a cap removably mounted on and closing the top of said chamber, said cap being'provided with a throat, said throat being of proper diameter to prevent an inserted butt from dropping through but to lightly support a butt inserted therein, an imperforate tube attached at said throat and depending within said chamber, said tube being of sufficiently large internal diameter that a butt will pass freely therethrough without sticking, and a movable stop at the lower end of said tube normally supporting the lowermost butt in the tube'but arranged to be retracted as said butt is forced from the tube by the insertion of another butt into the throat.

4. In a cigarette butt receiver and extinguisher,

the combination of a bowl, a chamber supported by and in spaced relation to said bowl, a cap removably mounted on said chamber and closing its upper end, said cap being provided with a throat, said throat being of proper diameter to prevent an inserted butt from dropping through but to lightly support a butt inserted therein, an imperforate tube attached at said throat and depending within said chamber, said tube being of sufliciently large internal diameter that a butt will pass freely therethrough without sticking, and a movable stop at the lower end of said tube normally supporting the lowermost butt in the tube but arranged to be retracted by said butt when it is forced from the tube by the insertion of another butt into the throat, the discharged butts dropping into the bowl.

- JOHN C. GLOMB. 

